No matter who you are (male, female, student, retired), you are always looking for what's NEXT. 

Remember going to your kid's recital and looking over the program… just to see what was NEXT. If you’ve ever been on a road-trip with children, you understand the importance of giving your kids the NEXT thing to look forward to as they squirm in the car and constantly ask “are we there yet?" What comes NEXT is simply a way to track and measure progress.  It’s the opportunity to feel like you’ve accomplished something and that you’re moving forward on your journey. This is one of the reasons I believe EVERY CHURCH should have a NEXT STEPS solution for people who visit and begin attending your church.  The last thing I want is for someone to come into our church and just feel like they are attending something.  I want them to be able to have the option to BELONG to something bigger than themselves. It’s okay if people want to attend for a while before taking a NEXT step, but I want them to know what that NEXT step is and continue to point them to it until they take it. I’ve heard this offered in many different ways.  5 Min Party with the Pastor, Next Steps class, Discovering Sunday School class (yes people still have Sunday School), or a something-something 101 lunch.

No matter what you choose to do, let me offer 5 suggestions to help make it the best NEXT step it can be for your church.

1. Communicate It Regularly  - no matter how often you offer the class, you should speak about it regularly in your services.  This again communicates for anyone that is new, or simply been there hiding out for several months, that this IS the NEXT step for them to take.  It will feel like a pain to you and your staff, because it will seem like you’re OVER-communicating it.  If you feel that way… do it just a bit more and you’ll be right on track!

2. The shorter, the better.  This is not the time to take people through a 4-6 week class on the theological foundations of your denomination. That can be class 201.  The shorter the better is simply an acknowledgment that people’s time is valuable and that you desire to only take as much of it as you feel is necessary to communicate the purpose of the class.  (Our “Discovering” next step is a lunch after the 2nd service and lasts about 1 - 1.5 hours).

3. Don’t FIREHOSE them with information.  Sure, you’ve got 89 programs in your church that every leader wants to make sure you mention in this class - DON’T DO IT!  If you have a large amount of information to share, find a way to package it in written or video form, and give it to them at this class.  Let them decide if they want “more information” on what your church is offering. This is a NEXT step class from visiting to hopefully joining your church.  Your primary focus should be to get 2-3 things MAX communicated clearly and efficiently so they will remember what the NEXT steps are after they’ve attended your NEXT step class.

4. Have ALL your staff & primary leadership present.  I know this might be a challenge, but it’s a WIN if you can make this happen. Why? Because hopefully you are drawing from a large, diverse group of people who have different needs, desires, and questions that the pastor might not be the best person to answer.  A mother doesn’t care what the pastor says happens in children ministry as much as she does the Children’s director who is clearly in charge of it and present on Sunday mornings.  A teenager doesn’t care what the executive pastor says about church business management as much as they want to know if there is a Youth Pastor and do they have fun at Youth Events! If you can get your staff & key leaders to attend - you are making everyone available for those people investigating your church.  They don’t have to give a 10 min presentation of their ministry or program; they just need to introduce themselves and sit back down. I’ve noticed that the conversations AFTER the meeting are even more important than what is shared IN the meeting.

5. Give them the next...NEXT steps.  As I said before, everyone WANTS to feel like they are going somewhere.  They’ve made it to the class.  They are considering taking those steps that move them from attending to belonging at your church.  They still need to know what is NEXT after the NEXT steps class.  Make sure you are giving them theses steps and that you communicate it several times throughout the class.  No matter if it’s Baptism, Small Groups, Serving on a Team, Giving, or more information on specific programs, make sure they are given a CALL TO ACTION on the next steps.  CHECK THIS BOX if you’re interested in joining a Small Group.  SIGN UP HERE if you want more information on any of the following programs offered.  Stay AFTER class to talk with the pastor if you want to understand and are thinking about Baptism.  They need to be able to DECIDE something at the class OR have all the information they need to leave and make that decision in future weeks.

I hope that all of you have a NEXT STEPS offering at your church.  It’s an invaluable part of helping people in their spiritual journey connect at your local church, and I believe it gets people involved more efficiently and with greater care when you intentionally offer them a clear next step. What next steps are you offering at your church?  Are they working?  If so… share in the comments below so we can learn from you.